The use of mobile mental health apps among Moroccan medical students and its relation with environmental protection: A descriptive study

Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hassan II University, Casablanca, Morocco

Abstract

Medical students report a growing prevalence of mental health illnesses due to the medical school curriculum being considered challenging, lengthy, and leaving little time for leisure. Currently, several mental health apps are available and hold promise in terms of the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of mental health disorders. This study aimed to investigate medical students’ habits, attitudes, and intentions about using mental health applications. A survey questionnaire given to one hundred and thirty-three Moroccan medical students at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Casablanca and answered by one hundred and eleven of them was used to collect primary data. Improvements in the management and monitoring of mental health illnesses as well as a reduction in environmental costs as a result of a decrease in patient travel to mental healthcare facilities are the most obvious reasons why medical students perceive mental health applications to be useful. The findings also indicate that medical students are less familiar with mental health apps and use them less frequently than other mobile health apps. Furthermore, downloading a mental health app, being diagnosed with mental health issues, and perceiving mobile mental health apps to be useful don’t ensure their active use among medical students. Therefore, more research on the determinants of the use of mobile mental health apps is needed. Those related to environmental protection must also be considered.